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Heartworm Research Paper

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Heartworm Research Paper Devyn Robeson VET113 S&F Heartworm disease can be fatal to your furry friend if it is left untreated. Foot-long worms are found living in the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels. These worms can cause severe damage in organs as well as cause lung disease and heart failure. This disease has been found to affect dogs, cats, ferrets, wolves, coyotes, foxes, and sea lions. Which the information I learned from my research, I will be discussing the history of heartworm, what causes it, the symptoms and clinical signs, how to diagnose it, the treatment need, as well as preventing it. Heartworm was first discovered in dogs in 1847 in South America and then discovered later in cats in the 1920s. In …show more content…

In the early stages of heartworm, little to no symptoms will occur. Symptoms in most animals that will be noticed could be a mild persistent cough. The animal will have a decreased appetite. They could have a bulging chest due to excess fluid. They will experience weight loss and have difficulty breathing. They will have a reluctance to exercise and be fatigue. They could have an allergic reaction to the offspring of the worms. The worm(s) can cause blockage in the blood flow of the heart and cause the animal to collapse, this is mostly common to be the first sign to appear in cats. It is difficult to diagnose a cat for heartworm because they will experience the same symptoms that are used to diagnose other diseases in felines. This could include weight loss, fatigue, and difficulty breathing. Also, they could experience gagging and vomiting. Other signs that have been documented in heartworm are nose bleeds, secondary pneumonia, increased blood pressure, and excessive sleeping. It is rare that the worm(s) could get lost and end up in the brain or eyes and cause seizures, blindness, and lameness. Given the symptoms and clinical signs, we can move on to how heartworm is …show more content…

The results are usually in quickly as some veterinarians will do the test right in their hospital or the samples are sent out to a laboratory. Tests will also need to be done to check for any abnormalities in complete blood counts and to check the level of function of the internal organs. Radiographs are taken to look for inflammation, enlargement, or swelling of the heart. Electrocardiograms can be taken to detect any abnormal heart rhythms. An echocardiography is done to see a visual of any worms and this helps with determining the condition the heart is in. An animal must be assessed to determine what stage of heartworm they have as Class One is considered the less severe and easy to treat. Treatment will usually consist of being prescribing antibiotics to eliminate the worms. Class Four is the most difficult and hard to treat and will consist of surgical treatment to remove the worms from blockage. Since we know how heartworm is diagnosed, we can learn about the

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